Product Description

The Irish folk-pop quartet's fourth studio album (their first release since 2002's 'Live In The Dublin'). The album wasrecorded between Los Angeles and Dublin with producer Olle Romo (Elton John, Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys). The album sees them once again combine their Irish folk influences with modern pop music. The album contains the single 'Summer Sunshine' as well as the Bono written track 'Time Enough For Tears' (from the 'In America' soundtrack) and contributions from Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Track Listing

1. Summer Sunshine
2. Angel
3. Hideaway
4. Long Night
5. Goodbye
6. Time Enough For Tears
7. Humdrum
8. Even If
9. Borrowed Heaven
10. Confidence
11. Baby Be Brave
12. Silver Strand

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19028 in Music
• Released on: 2004-05-31
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Borrowed Heaven comes a few years after the Greatest Hits collection and the Corr's last proper studio album, In Blue. It's easy to see it was time well spent as of the 12 new songs here there is very little filler and plenty of catchy, rousing choruses. Lead single and opener "Summer Sunshine" is jolly, guitar-driven, 80s pop-rock and, like much of the album, has a few quirky production gimmicks to fill out the verse while the chorus explodes into big drums and meaty guitar hooks.

It's difficult to pick standouts as the style is quite firmly set and the quality between songs unwavering, but the finale "Silver Strand" is a grandiose Celtic instrumental led by Sharon Corr's sadly under-used violin with Andrea chipping in the occasional "La la la" vocal. "Long Night" is a well-crafted 80s power-ballad and in contrast, "Humdrum" takes a contemporary slant on the Corrs sound with scratching, synths and breaks creating the rockiest moment on the album. There may be disappointment that it veers towards the commercialism of Fleetwood Mac rather than the traditional folk of their earlier work, but this is the Corrs and has been for some time; so love it or loathe it, it's unmistakably their sound. --David Trueman

Customer Reviews

The Corrs are the best`
I love this album!! I didn't think I would because some of the other reviews on Amazon but because I have been a Corrs fan since 1996 i thought I had to at least see for myself if this album is good or bad.
If you like the first two Corrs albums - Forgiven Not Forgotten and Talk on Corners - then you will really like this.
It does take one or two listens to get into it but once you have played it a few times you come to realise just how good this album is. It amazes me that this band can just keep on releasing such great albums. They have gone back to their roots more with this than their 2000 album In Blue and I really love the sound of this well written/produced/sung/played album.

A pleasant surprise...
Once upon a time I was a big fan of the Corrs - I bought all their CDs, went to see them play live, and even bought copies of Hello! and Marie-Claire if they were featured in them. But then I realised that, despite being very talented musicians, their songs are actually rather bland, and by the time Borrowed Heaven was released in 2004 I no longer considered myself a fan. However, out of a sense of loyalty and obligation I bought the album - I listened to it once, was not terribly impressed, found a home for it in my CD rack and there it stayed gathering dust...

Until, for some reason, I recently decided to give it another go, and what I heard was a pleasant surprise. Borrowed Heaven doesn't really have any instantly-catchy chart-friendly tracks, which perhaps explains my initial reaction, but what it does have is a number of very well-written and well-produced songs. Summer Sunshine is a very happy, jolly little number, and I also very much like Hideaway, Long Night and, my own personal favourite, Humdrum. The title track is also very good, and an interesting departure for the band. I do have a few gripes - I know Angel is a very personal song for the band, but I still think the verses and chorus don't fit together terribly well, and they still use that damn violen too much, but these are minor quibbles.

Borrowed Heaven is the band's most mature and professional album to date. While their previous works somewhat lacked credibility, Borrowed Heaven has it in abundance. It is an album you can happily play to a non-Corrs fan without risking ridicule, and I highly recommend it.

dull
Listen to 'Forgiven not forgotten'. A beautiful album focussing on Irish music, with lovely sounds and a light smattering of pop in places. I was captivated by this album and it is chock full of ballads and beautiful songs.
Listen to this, and you have a band that has sold out a long time ago. I like the songs on a very superficial level and they are all ok. But once the CD is turned off, the music to all the songs sounds the same to me, syrupy, bland modern day pop.
Hence, I won't bother going through all the tracks, as they are so mundane. But two songs are excellent. 'Time enough for tears' stands out amongst their best work, really like the change in style. Also 'Silver strand' has an excellent melodic line, with the violin and tin whistle in unison. First class way to end a great album. Huge disappointment to end a mediocre, bland effort with a song, that shows the Corrs have such great potential, if they only stuck to their roots.